Category: Marine Corps Stories

Peekaboo, We See You!: After finding a suitable "harbor site", the team hunkers down for the night. I set out trip wires/claymores and slithered back to my position within the site. This particular site was located in a elevated position making it difficult to overrun in case the enemy (instructors) decided to come at us tonite. As a general rule, our team is meant purely for reconnaissance, not C…OMBAT, therefore initiating contact by small arms is very risky, considering the small amount of firepower. The mission may be compromised and once located, a team can be overrun by a determined and competent enemy. With that being said, noise discipline, camo/concealment and using terrain to our advantage is very critical when working in the enemies backyard. The enemy base camp was about 1,100 meters to the north of us and that kept us on high alert all nite. Although we were allowed to sleep, no one really slept that second nite. The early morning sunlight began peeking thru the jungle's canopy, bringing in the new day. We were about a half days travel from our OP (observation post) and it was time to move out. I crawled down to gather my claymores/trip wires and scurried back to eat chow with my team mates before we got going. Mascara was re-applied, weapons cleaned, a brief radio check was conducted and off we went. Moving uphill slowly, the heat, lack of rest and the weight of our ALICE packs were now putting a strain on our bodies. Physical fatigue was common on ALL patrols but mental fatigue is what makes or breaks you. Any slip up now and we are in deep shit! Once arriving at the OP, a security element (2ppl) was placed to the rear of our position and we began our observation on a suspected base camp. This camp was comprised of several bldgs including a field hospital, a communications hut and a large chow tent which lead us to believe it housed at least a company sized element. Troops scurried back and forth carrying on with their daily routines, having no idea that they were being watched. The afternoon passed slowly as usual but was routinely interrupted by the playful sounds of the native monkeys and birds perched high above us. This indicated that no other humans were near us and the PL decided to use the OP as our "harbor site" for the third night ………in the jungle on an island in the South Pacific! read more